More than two decades after its release, CS:GO continues its reign among multiplayer FPS titles both as a game, as well as as an esport. Indeed, for the second time this month, our precious shooter surpassed its own all-time peak player record, exceeding 1,323,700 concurrent players.
The new record was set on February 19, just eight days after the previous record was broken, with more than 1,320,200 players logging in at the same time. Before that, the highest peak was over 1,305,700 concurrent players, set back in April 2020.
BLAST.tv: Congratulations on your qualification for the RMR, what was the feeling in the team when you qualified?
volt: Thank you! We were super happy to be able to qualify, especially since we went into the open qualifiers with no pressure to reach the RMR since our roster had only just recently formed. There were no expectations, but after the 2-0 start in the closed qualifier and failing to win the first two BO3s it was a big relief in the end.
BLAST.tv: You qualified with a 3-2 record, could you take us through each game? How did you feel when you were 2-2 and had one chance remaining?
volt: The first BO1 on Inferno against IKLA went pretty smoothly and we were in control for the whole game - a quick, comfortable win that boosted our confidence from the get-go. Next up, we were matched against Viperio on Vertigo which is a strong map for both of us.
That match was one of the wildest I've played in a while, almost every round was super fast-paced, and most of them came down to close clutches. They have been playing really well, and with their momentum after beating 1WIN that match could have gone their way. Coming into the first BO3 vs 9INE and with a chance to go 3-0, we won each other's map picks and kind of crumbled on the third map, Ancient.
The first half wasn't great for us, we made many mistakes and lost many 'unlosable' rounds, but then we started to pick up again going into the second half. It felt like we were going to win it at one point, their economy was in a really bad position but just like in the first half we lost a couple of rounds we shouldn't have and that was it for that BO3. Maybe the pressure was finally getting to us now that we were so close to the RMR.
In the 2-1 game with Eternal Fire, we went into it expecting it to be closer than it was, but with how good they've been performing lately, we were always going to have a tough time... and they made quick work of us. We were feeling slightly deflated at this stage, now 2-2. Our last chance was against HAVU, and we started with a loss on the first map.
It felt like it would be the same as the other two series, but then from map 2 and following a quick talk between maps, it started to click for us and we took both maps 16-8. In my opinion, we could've finished 3-0, but maybe it's better this way, we would've been in RMR B, and we all know what teams are waiting in there.
So at least that's a positive after all the stress of leaving it till the last game.
BLAST.tv: You’re a new team, did you expect to qualify for something like this so quickly?
volt: I didn't expect it, but it wasn't something I thought would be impossible. With many of these qualifiers, you also need a bit of luck with the bracket, and for us, I would say it went in our favor. We are still at the beginning of the team and have many gaps in our game which we need time to work on, but it's nice to have the RMR to look forward to and practice for.
BLAST.tv: Viperio also qualified for the same RMR as you, are you excited about potentially facing them for a chance at playing the Major? What about Fnatic with mezii too?
volt: A 2-2 qualification game against Viperio to make the major would be something... Facing them on LAN in Copenhagen would be fun, but I wouldn't want it to be an elimination match. Same with fnatic, it's crazy that all the UK representation is in the same RMR group.
BLAST.tv: Are there any other players or teams in the RMR you’re excited - or even worried - about the opportunity of playing?
volt: Honestly, every matchup will be exciting for me. After all, it is the RMR, and every team there will be good. Facing the top teams like NAVI and FaZe will be cool, as long as they don't 16-0 us. In a recent HLTV Confirmed, Styko said that they would have no issue vs Viperio or us, so I would like to play Apeks to see about that!
BLAST.tv: What are your expectations for the RMR?
volt: Making the Major is my dream, but I expect minimum to win 1 or 2 matches. Going out 0-3 would be disappointing, but whatever the result, I will still be happy that we were able to reach this stage.
Many other deserving teams failed to reach the RMR, so the opportunity to play it is great. We're not as strong right now as we can be, so I hope we will double or even triple our performance in time for the RMR. Playing many of these CCTs and other online tournaments has gotten in the way of doing actual practice, so I think once we get the time to fix our game, we should be playing far better.
BLAST.tv: You won the WePlay academy team with your previous team fnatic Rising, how does that experience help you in high-pressure scenarios like this one?
volt: I would put winning WePlay below reaching the RMR, so in terms of pressure, these qualifiers have way more. Personally, there wasn't much pressure, and I felt pretty comfortable. Winning WePlay gave me more confidence as a player, so it did help in a way.
BLAST.tv: What’s the difference between playing on an academy team to this one?
volt: Well, the biggest difference would be being allowed to play the RMR qualifiers which we couldn't do for the last Major. It wasn't nice sitting it out and watching from the sidelines. Otherwise, I wouldn't say there is much difference, we were operating as any other team, just with some limitations on what tournaments we could play. The same level of professionalism but with additional resources from the main team that we could use to help us improve.
BLAST.tv: There’s never been as many UK&I players in an RMR before, how important is this for the scene as a whole?
volt: It is very important because it shows that we have the teams and players in the scene capable of reaching these tournaments. We're no longer at the point where we rely only on Endpoint to carry forward the UK flag in CS.
This could motivate everyone to grind the game harder so that we see even more teams reaching ESEA Advanced and showing up more on HLTV. Perhaps we'll even see some extra support from new organizations coming into the scene, who knows. UKCS can finally become less of a meme.
BLAST.tv: Do you think this will be the start of a shift in the scene where we see UK&I at bigger events more often?
volt: I wouldn't say so in the short term but definitely in the not-so-distant future. UK&I has been on the rise in the last couple of years, and I'm optimistic it will continue that way. If we want to see more UK&I attendance at these bigger events, there is still a lot of work to be done. Hopefully, this won't just be a one-off.
Image credit: EPIC.LAN
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Register your BLAST.tv account and join the BLAST community for Spring Groups and beyond
Play Counter-Strikle
Test your CS knowledge daily with the Counter-Strikle Quiz. See how well you really know the pro scene!
BLAST ApS., Hauser Plads 1, 3., 1127 Copenhagen